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"I
can announce to naturalists that this is the true Promised Land.
Here Nature created a special sanctuary wither she seems to have
withdrawn to experiment with designs different from those used
anywhere else. At every step one finds more remarkable and marvelous
forms of life."
C'est
à Madagascar que je puis annoncer aux naturalistes qu'est
la véritable terre promise pour eux. C'est là que
la nature semple s'être retirée dans un sanctuaire
particulier pour y travailler sur d'autres modèles que
ceux auxquels elle s'est asservie ailleurs. Les formes les plus
insolites et les plus merveilleuses s'y rencontrent à chaque
pas.
Joseph-Philibert
Commerson, on Madagascar, 1771
Madagascar
is an island off the Southeast coast of Africa about the size
of Texas. Considered by scientists worldwide to be a high priority
for conservation efforts both for its high degree of endemism
(number of species found no where else) and its sheer biodiversity
(number of living species).
Unfortunately,
virtually all of Madagascar's native species are threatened with
extinction as deforestation proceeds at an alarming rate. Madagascar
is a poor nation struggling to improve the quality of life for
its rapidly growing human population. At the same time, they are
struggling to find a way to preserve the forests and wildlife
that remain. The Madagascar Fauna Group was formed at the request
of Malagasy government officials to help conserve Madagascar's
unique biological heritage.
Madagascar
Profile
Local
name:
Madagasikara
Time
Zone: GMT +3 (At midnight in New York City, it's 7 a.m. the
next day in Madagascar.) Current
time comparisons around the world.
Location:
Madagascar is the fourth largest island in the world located in
the Indian Ocean, near the SE coast of Africa across from Mozambique.
The Mozambique Channel separates Madagascar from Africa by more
than 400 km/200 mi. By the way, Grønland (Greenland) is
the largest island followed by New Guinea and Borneo. Great Britain
is the world's eighth largest island.
Area:
592,800 sq km; 228,821 sq miles
Population:
15 million (about the same as Florida)
Government:
Republic
Date
of Independence: 1960
Capital:
Antananarivo (often just called Tana)
Languages:
Malagasy and French
Ethnic
groups: 18 significant ethnic groups including Malayo-Indonesian,
African, Arab, French, Indian, Creole and Comoran
Religions:
Traditional animist beliefs, Christianity, Islam
Climate:
Tropical, variable rainfall; average annual rainfall 1 to 1.5
m/40-60 in, higher in tropical coastal region; average annual
temperatures 21 degrees C (Jan), 15 degrees C (Jul).
Currency:
1 Madagascar (or Malagasy) Franc (FMG, MgFr) = 100 centimes.
Economy:
Chiefly agricultural; rice, manioc, coffee, sugar, vanilla, cotton,
peanuts, tobacco, livestock; food processing, tanning, cement,
soap, paper, textiles, oil products; graphite, chrome, coal, ilmenite.
GDP:
US$12.3 billion
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